THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN. 
99 
business men and the latter will join us in an indorsement of 
the efforts of the horticultural journals to warn the patrons of 
nurseries. 
PRIZES FOR AMERICAN FRUIT. 
American growers won twice as many prizes for apples and 
oranges at the Paris exposition as were won by all the other 
exhibitors together. And the exhibit was from last year’s 
crop. Now the new fruit is going forward and the record will 
be maintained undoubtedly. This should greatly stimulate the 
demand for the American apple in Europe. 
Such announcements as these ought to encourage the nur¬ 
seryman to make renewed efforts to supply the best stock in 
his power to the end that the demand for the highest grade 
may be fostered where it has obtained a foothold and created 
where it has not existed. 
PREPARING APPLE SEEDS. 
Silas Wilson, Atlantic, la., made his usual eastern trip last 
month to arrange for his apple seeds. “ I know of only one 
place in this country to get the right kind of seeds,” said Mr. 
Wilson to a representative of the National Nurseryman. 
“ With this single exception, it is the custom to leave the seeds 
in the pumice for some time before separation. That practice 
is bad for the seeds. The acid of the apple juice affects the 
vitality of the seeds, and plants from such seeds are not strong. 
I require that my seeds shall not remain in the pumice over 
night even. It is somewhat more expensive to obtain seeds in 
this way, but if you could see the growth that the plants make 
you would agree with me that the trouble is worth the cost. 
In my opinion, French crab-apple stocks are grown from the 
common apple seeds, but the growers knowhow to prepare the 
seeds.” 
COMMENT ON CANADIAN LAW. 
For all the ineffectual efforts to keep out insects, fungi and 
weeds by law have been so freely shown to be supreme folly, 
Canada, as our readers know, prohibited the importation from 
the United States of nursery products in order to get 
immunity from the San Jose scale, says Meehan’s Monthly. 
At the time Meehan’s Monthly invited a smile at the law. 
These pests have numerous paths of travel without going 
through custom house gates, and it was predicted the San 
Jose scale would soon show itself to our friends over the 
border. Dr. Fletcher, a Canadian entomologist, has stated 
recently that the San Jose scale has become the most serious 
pest that has ever occurred in Canadian orchards. But the 
law is still left as a scarecrow to the scale that is laughing 
“literally behind its back.” 
NEW METHOD WITH EVERGREENS. 
C. S. Harrison, Nebraska, says in American Gardening : 
We have been planting evergreens in the spring, but I am con¬ 
vinced the fall is the best time. The great trouble in raising ever¬ 
greens is their damping off in hot weather. I have had hundreds of 
thousands mown down even under the most approved shade. Some 
things led me to believe the fall was the best time. In the mountains 
the squirrels have dropped cones in the water, where they have 
remained all winter, and sprouted in the spring. It occurred to me 
that if we could give our seedlings an earlier start we might avoid the 
damping off. This trouble occurs before the second set of leaves is 
formed. So last fall I planted Ponderosa Pine and Douglas Spruce. 
They were up the first thing this spring, and commenced growing and 
were vigorous enough to resist damping off when the weather grew 
hot. My fall planted seedlings are twice the size of spring planted 
ones. I shall make fuller experiments with other kinds. I think with 
most of them we will have a better stand and finer plants. 
IMPROVING THE NATIVE PLUM. 
O. M. Lord, Minnesota City, Minn., in an article on the 
improvement of the native plum says : 
We may here refer to the seedling work of Mr. Gideon, with apples. 
Out of many thousands he found some good ones, but only one Wealthy. 
The question arises, must we depend upon nature wholly for improve¬ 
ment of the native plum ? Is there nothing for the horticulturist to 
do ? Yes, we can bring varieties together by seeds and by transplant¬ 
ing. That nature might never do. We can care for and plant seeds in 
such a manner that they will grow and make mature plants, where if 
left to nature not one in 10,000 would mature. Note the immense 
number of seeds in many of the small fruits and consider the effect if 
they should all grow. We can modify the conditions of growth by 
grafting, budding and giving protection. We would like to dispense 
with its sourness when cooked ; would like to increase the size of the 
fruit and to diminish that of the seed ; to make the pulp more firm ; to 
heighten the color ; to make it proof against insects and fungous 
diseases ; to make it better adapted to commercial use in carrying and 
keeping. Are all these things within our province ? Yes, within 
certain limits, with the help of nature, with what we know and what 
we may learn, bearing in mind that with all our knowledge and all our 
scientific skill, we cannot make and verify even the seed of a Wealthy 
apple nor of a superior plum. 
Ifn Common Council. 
Editor National Nurseryman: 
While looking over the June number of the National 
Nurseryman, in which you give a review of the history of the 
American Association of Nurserymen, I find you omit any ac¬ 
count of several meetings, having no record of the years omit- 
ed. I can supply you with some of the missing data. In your 
list of presidents, you omit the following, who served during 
the years opposite their names, and presided at the meetings 
held for those years: J. J. H irrison, 1879; T. S. Hubbard, 
1880; W. C. Barry, 1882. In 1878, the meeting was held in 
Rochester, New York; in 1879 the association met in Cleve¬ 
land, Ohio, with J. J. Harrison presiding. Papers were read 
by J. J. Hrrrison, G. W. Campbell, Jonathan Periam, W. C 
Barry, Cyrus Thomas, John A. Warder, S. B. Parsons, Patrick 
Barry, N. B. Smith, and Thomas Meehan. In 1881, the meet¬ 
ing was held in Dayton, Ohio, with Mr. Albaugh presiding. I 
am indebted for his data, to old files of he Gardener’s 
Monthly, the account of each meeting being written by Mr. 
Meehan after attending, and should be accurate. The associa¬ 
tion, by the way, will not complete its first quarter-century till 
next June; there have been twenty-five meetings, but the asso¬ 
ciation is only twenty-four years old, a point mentioned by Mr 
Sanders at the last meeting, in Chicago. 
John Watson, 
Benham, Tex., Aug. 4, 1900. Vice-President for Texas 
